“It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future...”

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Sketch of Roseinia Sylvester Jarvis, Part 4

St. George Temple. From Wikipedia.

When the persecutions became so great against those who had taken more than one wife, and after Father's return from his Mission, he was arrested by the U.S. Marshalls and told to appear at Beaver for the September Term of Court. My brother Orin and myself were also suppoened [sic] to appear at the same time as well as Aunt Rose. When the time came, my Father was very critically ill, and a Doctor's Certificate had to be sent telling them of his severe illness and excusing him from attending Court, but the rest of us had to go. My brother Orin, a lad of twelve years of age, and inexperienced at driving a team acted as teamster, driving a pair of young animals fresh from the Range, and with Aunt Rose’s Assistance at driving, we finally arrived in Beaver, after many exciting experiences. Once can imagine the chagrin and embarrassment of appearing before a room full of men—the Grand Jury, who quizzed and questioned all sorts of “flings” at her as well as to each of us in turn but alone in the room with the Jury. It was surely a very trying time, and we all tried to forget it as much as possible, but the memories are still as fresh in my mind now as it was then at that time.

After her health failed her and she had to give up teaching, she devoted most of her time to Research and Temple Work. She was called to be an Ordinance Worker in the St. George Temple in the Spring of 1908, and she worked there until sickness overtook her and confined her to her bed in November of 1912. In the meantime, she had decided to sell her home on Main Street, and she moved to the house across the street from her husband's home,—the old Second Ward School-house, which my husband, E. D. Seegmiller had worked over into a dwelling house for us after his return from his mission to Germany, and which we lived in until 1908, when we moved to the part of town where we are now living. She used the means received from the sale of her home for furthering the Research and Temple Work which she was so interested in, and which she devoted her later years in accomplishing. She also made it possible for her Kinsfolk to assist her in the work, even after she had passed on, or until the names she had gathered of her Ancestry, had all been taken care of at the Temple, and their work all been done.

Along with her education, in her later years, she attended Summer School at the B.Y.U. where she studied music and painting along with other studies, thus showing that she had a love for the cultural Arts and Beauty.

After the completion of the Washington Field Dam, and the higher ground was then available for cultivation, my Father procured some land under the new canal that was built around what was formerly called "Dry Lake", but which was included in the new field. As he had been so critically ill after his return from his mission, and his health was far from being what it should be, he was not able to get out and work as he had formerly done, so, in order to procure the necessary machinery for him to run his farm, Aunt Rose furnished him with the necessary funds or means, which she had procured from her teaching, thus enabling him to go on and till and cultivate his newly acquired ground to raise his crops. This showed her great generosity and big-heartedness in assisting those in need, and that was just a sample of what her life was always with her family and her husband's family, as well as her husband.

As was stated before, she was taken ill in November of 1912, and confined to her bed. She had been troubled with what was called, "Addison's Disease of the Kidneys" for four years previous to this, but at this time the disease appeared to be getting the upper hand of her condition, and she died on January 1, 1913, at the age of nearly fifty-six years, just lacking one month and a few days.

Although in her life, she was not blessed with children of her own, and which was a constant sorrow and regret to her, yet it did not deter her or keep her from doing for and showing to others that she was able to take a "mother's" part to others in need of such care, and she is remembered for her great love and kindness in this regard.

She died a faithful and consistent Latter Day Saint, with hopes of a glorious Resurrection, and loved and missed by many who mourned her passing.

This was a biography written by Ella [Eleanor] Jarvis Seegmiller. My biography of Rose Sylvester Jarvis can be found at Keepapitchinin.org (Roseinia Sylvester Jarvis). It is one of a series of biographies of the women of early St. George, Utah.

2 comments:

I’m so glad you told Roseinia’s story in your Eminent Women series. It was additionally interesting to find this sketch of her life and pictures daily. I admire your work and discipline and thank you for your example. And I’m happy to have become acquainted with Rose.

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It's always wonderful to hear from relatives and friends, close or distant. This blog is an ongoing collaborative project, so if you have questions, memories or reminiscences, corrections, requests to use material, or additional pictures, documents, or histories to share, please leave a comment. We can't always see contact information in comments, so you can also contact Amy at amy ancestor files (that's all one word) at gmail dot com.

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It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look on the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect on the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. —Gordon B. Hinckley...